I'd like to thank you all for the wonderful advice. I just got the
canner in today and wouldn't you know it but the shipper didn't pack
it well and put the gauge right against the cardboard box. The box
must have been dropped on side during shipping because all the glass
that was in the gauge came out when I opened the box.

It was packed very well with peanuts but not double boxed so it ended
up being damaged badly. I suspect the gauge still works well as
without the glass it started to move as pressure was developed inside
but I'll still have to find another gauge to replace it. The writing
on the top of the gauge was crushed & though I flattened it out, the
paint the writing was on is chipped off & gone forever.

The nice thing about this gauge is that it was set back at an angle so
you could look at the value without bending over. If I get some new
replacement gauge from somewhere (the canner's company is well out of
business) it will be straight vertical and to read it I will have to
bend over to do so.

Really irritating.

So important to box properly when you ship. This beautiful canner went
56 years intact until this week...


Meg

>Hi Meg,
>
>What a great price! Maybe wait until it gets there before worrying
>about parts as it might not need any. Looking at the picture of the
>lid, what you have there is a gauge, rubber safety plug, and
>National's pressure regulator device. I borrowed a national canner
>once that had one of these. It has a little lever on top that you flip
>up for open and down for closed. It does the exact same job as the
>familiar rocker setup except it uses an internal spring instead of a
>weight and is a lot harder to misplace on canning day. Do a thorough
>inspect parts that hold the lid on. As xcvbob says, don't put oil on
>the gasket, to which I would add, don't remove the gasket for
>inspection or you will likely have to replace it. If you decide to
>test it by putting an inch of water in the bottom and bringing it up
>to pressure, let it vent for 10 minutes before you flip the lever
>down, just as you would during a normal canning run. With the little
>lever down it should start venting when it reaches 15 lbs pressure.
>Best Regards,
>James
>
>
>
>Meg > wrote in message >. ..
>> Greetings,
>>
>> I just purchased a Health Pressure Cooker model #22 & made in Peoria,
>> IL by the National Aluminum Manufacturing Company. From the limited
>> info I found on Google, it was probably made in the late 40's or early
>> 50's..
>>
>> If you go to http://ebay.com & type in 2380856056 in the search you
>> will see the canner I bought & this might help you recgonize it.
>>
>> There's no instructions to go with it and I'm not sure exactly how to
>> work this specific one. All the pressure cookers/canners I've seen
>> have the rocking top to maintain a desired pressure. This one has a
>> pressure gage and pressure relief valve located on the lid but nothing
>> else I can see on the photo and the seller knows nothing about how to
>> calibrate it or use it.
>>
>> Any information on this one anyone?
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Meg